JP2000257614A - Screw lock structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent damage from being easily generated of a screw hole in a structure mounting a resin-made part by a tapping screw with a frame, cover, etc., of an image forming device serving as a mate part. SOLUTION: A U-groove 22 and an angle part 23 inserting a screw are formed in a protrusion 21 of a cover 20 in an image forming device. A hole 27 inserting a screw 26 is provided in an upper surface of a resin member 25 mounted in the cover 20, and a pair of ribs 28, 28 are formed in a lower surface, so that an elastic member 30 can be positioning held between the ribs 28 and 28 by the screw 26. The elastic member 30, provided with an internal thread part 31 in a position corresponding to the hole 27 of the resin member 25, makes the screw 26 screw in. The protrusion 21 is inserted in a clearance between the resin member 25 and the elastic member 30, the screw 26 is made to advance in the U-groove 22 and tighten the screw 26 from a condition thereof, the elastic member 30 is deformed and made in adhesion to the protrusion part 21, so as to fix the resin member 25 to the cover 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a copying machine,
Related to a structure in which parts and members such as a cover constituting an image forming apparatus such as a printer and a facsimile are disassembled and screwed down so that they can be recycled. Regarding the stop structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in order to prevent environmental destruction as a worldwide trend, products in the market have been collected, parts and products have been cleaned,
The so-called recycling, such as reusing and performing maintenance, or crushing, melting, etc., and reusing as materials has been widely performed. Therefore, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a tapping screw is frequently used instead of an insert screw in order to easily separate a resin component from a metal. As a method of screwing a resin member and another member such as a resin member and a resin member, or a resin member and a metal member, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 61-61307 has been proposed.
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H11-264, a method of forming a female screw directly on a resin member and using a tapping screw is known.

However, the use of a tapping screw has a problem in particular in the durability of a female screw formed on a resin member, and a part of the female screw is used when repeated screw tightening or when the screw tightening torque is excessively large. Is damaged, the tightening force of the tapping screw is lost, the screwing is incomplete, and the resin member itself has to be replaced.
In particular, when a resin member is used as a large resin component such as a base frame of an image forming apparatus represented by a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, etc., the replacement of the resin member is expensive. Was. For example, an ozone filter installed in a copying machine or the like requires up to 20
The tapping screw needs to be replaced about once, so that the tapping screw cannot be used easily, and the above-mentioned problem is remarkable.

Therefore, in the screwing structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-253105, a screw hole smaller than the screw hole is arranged downstream of the screw hole, and when the first screw hole is broken, the small screw hole becomes smaller. Screw in using the screw holes. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, when the plate-like member 1 is fixed to a resin member 2 which is a front cover of an image forming apparatus, for example, with a screw 3, the resin member 2 is provided with a threaded tapping screw prepared hole. 4, the female screw of the tapping screw pilot hole 4 and the screw 3 are screwed. The resin member 2 has a tapping screw pilot hole having a central axis on the same axis as the tapping screw pilot hole 4. 5, and the diameter of the tapping screw pilot hole 5 is smaller than the diameter of the tapping screw pilot hole 4. Then, the screw tightening between the plate-like member 1 and the resin member 2 is repeated a plurality of times, or the torque of the screw tightening is too large, so that the female screw of the tapping screw pilot hole 4 of the resin member 2 is damaged, and the screw 3 If the tightening force with the tapping screw pilot hole 4 is lost, replace the screw 3 with a screw that fits the tapping screw pilot hole 5, and screw this screw into the tapping screw pilot hole 5, and replace the screw 3. The screwing of the plate-like member 1 and the resin member 2 can be performed only by doing.

In the screwing structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-253105, as another embodiment, a resin member 6 has a hole 8 as a pilot hole having a step 7 as shown in FIG. A resin member 9 having the same outer shape as the hole 8 is fitted into the hole 8, and a tapping screw pilot hole 10 is formed by threading the inner peripheral surface of the resin member 9. In this case, the plate-like member 1 and the resin member 6 are screwed with the screw 3. If the internal thread of the tapping screw prepared hole 10 of the resin member 9 is damaged,
The resin member 9 is removed from the resin member 6 and the resin member 9 is removed.
By fitting another resin member having the same configuration as the above into the hole 8 of the resin member 6 and screwing the plate-like member 1 and the resin member 6 again with the screw 3, it is possible to cope without replacing the resin member 6. It has become.

Further, in the recyclable apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-170157, in order to make it possible to reuse various parts even when the fastening part is damaged, as shown in FIG. A member insertion hole 14 for inserting a fastening auxiliary member 13 is provided below the screw hole 12 of the material 11, and a hole 16 for tightening a screw 15 is provided in the fastening auxiliary member 13. When the screw hole 12 of the base material 11 is damaged or worn, the fastening aid member 13 is inserted into the member insertion hole 14 and the
And the component 16 can be fastened.

[0007]

However, when a resin auxiliary member is used, if the screw is frequently attached and detached in the market, the auxiliary member must be replaced frequently, resulting in an increase in cost. There is a possibility and improvement was desired. An object of the present invention is to solve such conventional problems.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a screwing structure for fixing a resin member and a mating member with a screw in order to achieve the above object. Along with providing an opening through which a screw is inserted in the resin member, an elastic member is arranged at an appropriate interval on the tip side in the insertion direction of the screw to allow the mating member to be inserted between the resin member and the elastic member, An opening is provided in the mating member at a position corresponding to the opening of the resin member, and a female screw hole for inserting the screw is provided in the elastic member, and the elastic member is formed in the resin at at least two positions sandwiching the female screw hole. The elastic member is deformed by tightening the screw into a female screw hole of the elastic member while positioning the mating member between the resin member and the elastic member while positioning the member with respect to the member. Characterized by comprising a fixable the resin member and the mating member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, an opening for inserting the screw is provided in the elastic member in place of the female screw hole, and a surface on the tip side in the insertion direction of the screw is provided. A member for screwing is provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the amount of deformation of the elastic member caused by tightening the screw is within the elastic limit of the elastic member.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the counterpart member is provided with a protrusion for retaining the elastic member.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the elastic member is made of a metal material.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a perspective view (A) and a sectional view (B) showing an embodiment of the screwing structure according to the present invention.
The mating member to be screwed is, for example, the cover 20 of the image forming apparatus.
The projection 21 has a U-shaped groove 22 serving as an opening for inserting a screw, and an angle portion 23 for hooking an elastic member described later. Meanwhile, the cover 20
The resin member 25 is provided with a hole 27 for passing a screw 26 on the upper surface, and a pair of ribs 28, 28 formed on the lower surface of the upper surface, so that the elastic member 30 is bridged between the ribs 28, 28. In such a state, it can be positioned and held by the screw 26.

The elastic member 30 is a plate-shaped member made of metal and having appropriate elasticity. The female screw portion 31 is positioned at a position corresponding to the hole 27 of the resin member 25 when positioned between the ribs 28 and 28.
The screw 26 can be screwed into the female screw hole (not shown). The rib 28 provided on the resin member 25 has a concave portion 29 at the lower end as shown in the figure, and the elastic member 30 is fitted into the concave portion 29 so as to be positioned and prevented from rotating. .

Next, the screwing operation in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 (B)
Is a state where the resin member 25 is assembled to the cover 20 before screwing, or the screw 2 is once screwed once.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a state in which the cover 20 and the resin member 25 are assembled by tightening the screws 26. From the state of FIG.
The protrusion 21 is inserted into the clearance between the resin member 25 and the elastic member 30 while the angle portion 23 at the tip of the protrusion 21 is not in the way, and the screw 26 is inserted into the U groove 22. 4 (B). In this state, the upper edge position of the concave portion 29 provided in the rib 28 of the resin member 25 is located slightly below the upper surface of the projection 21 of the cover 20, and the deformation amount of the elastic member 30 due to the tightening of the screw 26 described later As much as possible, and with the screw 26 not tightened or loosened,
The projections 21 of the cover 20 can reliably enter between the resin member 25 and the elastic member 30.

In this state, when the screw 26 is tightened,
With the protrusion 21 of the cover 20 interposed between the resin member 25 and the elastic member 30, the elastic member 30 deforms and comes into close contact with the protrusion 21, thereby fixing the resin member 25 to the cover 20 as shown in FIG. You. In this state, the elastic member 30 is reliably prevented from being caught by the angle portion 23 of the projection 21 and the resin member 25 from coming off the cover 20.

That is, in the present embodiment, by using the metal elastic member 30, even if the screw 26 is repeatedly tightened and loosened, not only the elastic member 30 itself but also the resin member 25 is hardly damaged. . Of course, by setting the amount of deformation of the elastic member 30 within the elastic limit, the elastic member 30 can be used repeatedly. In addition, by using the elastic member 30, a sufficient clearance for inserting the protrusion 21 of the cover 20 is provided, so that the cover 20 can be easily attached to the cover 20. Further, the resin member 25 and the elastic member 30 can be separated only by turning the screw 26, the operation can be performed with one hand, the workability is improved, and the recyclability is improved. Also, in the case of an ozone filter cover such as a copier, which is attached to the exterior parts of the equipment, the fixing member is attached to the part to be attached instead of the exterior part, which may affect the design of the exterior parts. Less.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the screwing structure according to the present invention. This embodiment is structurally almost the same as the previous embodiment, but the elastic member 3
The difference is that a metal member 32 having a female screw hole is attached to the lower surface of the elastic member 30 instead of providing a female screw hole on the elastic member 30 itself. With such a configuration, an elastic member that cannot be threaded can be adopted.

[0019]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the screw structure is as described above. Therefore, instead of directly screwing the screw into the resin member to be attached, the screw is used for the elastic member. By doing so, not only can the resin member be prevented from being damaged as much as possible, but also it is easy to reliably provide a clearance for inserting the mating member between the resin members of the elastic member, and the mating member can be easily attached. In addition, the resin member can be operated with one hand at the time of attachment and detachment, and since the screw can be attached to the resin member in advance, it is possible to prevent the screw from dropping and to improve the workability.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above-described common effect, since the female screw hole is not formed in the elastic member itself, it is possible to use an elastic member of a material which cannot be processed with a screw hole. effective.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above-mentioned common effect, the elastic member can be repeatedly used by setting the amount of deformation of the elastic member within the elastic limit.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above-described common effects, the detachment of the resin component due to the loosening of the screw can be prevented by providing a projection for hooking the elastic member on the mating member. effective.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above-mentioned common effect, the resin and the elastic member can be separated only by removing the screw, and the recyclability is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a conventional screwing structure.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing another example of a conventional screwing structure.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing still another example of the conventional screwing structure.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view (A) and a cross-sectional view (B) showing one embodiment of the screwing structure according to the present invention.

5 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 4 in which a cover and a resin member are assembled by tightening screws.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment of the screwing structure according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20 Cover of image forming apparatus 21 Projection 22 U-groove 23 Angle part 25 Resin member 26 Screw 27 Hole 28 Rib 29 Recess 30 Elastic member 31 Female screw part 32 Metal member

Claims (5)

[Claims] In a screwing structure for fixing a resin member and a mating member with a screw, an opening for inserting a screw into the resin member is provided, and an elastic member is provided at an appropriate distance from a leading end of the screw in the insertion direction. Disposing the mating member between the resin member and the elastic member so that the mating member can be inserted, providing an opening in the mating member at a position corresponding to the opening of the resin member, and inserting the screw through the elastic member. A female screw hole is provided and the elastic member is positioned with respect to the resin member at at least two positions sandwiching the female screw hole, and the screw is inserted in a state where the mating member is sandwiched between the resin member and the elastic member. The screwing structure is characterized in that the elastic member is deformed by tightening into a female screw hole of the elastic member, and the resin member and the mating member can be fixed. 2. An elastic member is provided with an opening through which the screw is inserted instead of the female screw hole, and a screwing member is provided on a surface on a tip side in the insertion direction of the screw. 1. Screw structure. 3. The screwing structure according to claim 1, wherein an amount of deformation of the elastic member caused by tightening the screw is within an elastic limit of the elastic member. 4. The screwing structure according to claim 1, wherein said mating member is provided with a protrusion for retaining said elastic member. 5. The screw structure according to claim 1, wherein said elastic member is made of a metal material.